The unidirectional fare, payable with MetroCard or OMNY, a contactless payment system which will replace the Metrocard by 2023, is $6.75. Discount fare media is available. Except for the ad hoc X80 service, coins are not accepted on express buses; only a MetroCard (for now) or OMNY (Staten Island to Manhattan) is accepted.

On August 19, 2018, all of the Staten Island-Manhattan express bus routes were redesigned to offer simpler and direct routes, fewer stops to speed up the trips, and additional service for off-peak hours and weekends. The new routes originally planned consists of 21 express routes: 11 traveling to Midtown, 8 traveling to Downtown and 2 traveling to Greenwich Village via Battery Park City. The previously used "X" routes have been dropped in favor of "SIM," or Staten Island to Manhattan, routes. This was the result of the two-year Staten Island Bus Study conducted by MTA, launched in 2015, which analyzed trip performance data, ridership profiles and extensive customer input, to determine the most effective way to reconfigure the network.[1][2]

All routes are operated by New York City Transit, except for the SIM23 and SIM24, which are operated by Academy Bus.[3] All routes run during rush hours in the peak direction. In addition, the SIM1C, SIM3C, SIM4C and SIM33C provide off-peak weekday and weekend service, and the SIM1C provides overnight service. These four -C routes cover most stops in Manhattan served by other routes during peak hours.

With the discontinuation of the JFK Express on April 15, 1990, which was also used by residents of Howard Beach to commute into Manhattan, service was extended from 157th Avenue and 84th Street to 159th Avenue and 102nd Street. A new stop was also added at 157th Avenue and Cross Bay Boulevard. The change was made at the request of Queens Borough President Claire Shulman.[84]

QM16 service began April 12, 1971,[82] QM17 service began December 20, 1976[85]

Stops north of 157th Avenue in Howard Beach eliminated in July 2006[86][87][88]

QM16 extended from Rockaway Park to Neponsit on September 4, 2007,[89][90][91] then Roxbury at Fort Tilden on April 18, 2011,[89][92][91] then truncated to Jacob Riis Park in December 2011 to accommodate customer parking[93]

On July 8, 1986, Community Board 9 formally recommended extending the route from Liberty Avenue to 150th Avenue in South Ozone Park. The Board had denied the request by Green Bus Lines on February 18 because some of its members feared that the additional riders using the route would overcrowd the buses. The Board only approved the change after the company added new buses to the route. The change was made so that passengers traveling by bus from 150th Avenue to Manhattan would not have to pay two fares.[95]

Extended along 135th Avenue in Spring 2008

QM20

No weekend service

Began service on July 7, 1970, originally operated on QM2 route north/west of Utopia Parkway[96]

Most X routes were discontinued between 2010 and 2018 due to budget cuts and a reimagining of the bus network.

In 2015, the MTA began a comprehensive study of express bus lines on Staten Island. These lines had not been drastically changed since the 1980s, and as a result, they had been updated piece-by-piece.[113]:3 As a result, these routes were circuitous, redundant, and infrequent.[113]:14–16 The MTA proposed replacing all of the existing express bus routes with simpler and shorter variants, a proposal supported by 76% of Staten Island residents who had learned about the study.[113]:20, 21, 23 In March 2018, after hosting several meetings with Staten Island residents, the MTA announced that express bus service to Staten Island was expected to be completely reorganized in August 2018.[114][115] As part of the redesign, all of the existing bus routes would be discontinued and replaced with new routes with a "SIM" prefix on August 19, 2018.[30]:188-189 The "SIM" prefix was chosen to reduce confusion with the "X"-prefixed routes they replaced, but deviate from the "S" prefix used by local Staten Island bus routes.[30]:191[116] The routes that were discontinued prior to August 18, 2018 were: X6, X13, X16, X18, X20, X21 (first use).

The remaining X routes are expected to be revamped and renamed sometime between 2019 and 2021.[117]

Route

Terminals

Streets Traveled

History and Notes

Manhattan

Staten Island

R9X

Service began in December 1968, and later became the X9 in 1976. See below for more information.

R10X

Service began in 1970, and later became the X10 in 1976. See below for more information.

R13X

Service began in 1972, and later became the X13 in 1976. See below for more information.

R14X

Service began in 1973, and later became the X14 in 1976. See below for more information.

R17X

Service began in 1973, and later became the X17 in 1976. See below for more information.

Peak hour trips (X10B) operated via West Street at World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan instead of Broadway and Church Street. Battery Park service replaced by X11.

Service on Narrows Road provided by the X14 during peak hours, when the X10 did not stop there.

Originally R10X in 1970, then became X10 in 1976

In September 1994, two non-revenue trips were converted to revenue trips, providing one reverse commute trip in the AM from Manhattan and on in the PM to Manhattan to serve the College of Staten Island.[123]

On January 17, 1998, an early Saturday morning trip toward Manhattan leaving Jewett at 6:30 a.m. was added. Service continued running hourly from 7:00 a.m. to 9 p.m..[124]

Service initially ran an into Manhattan via the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the Gowanus Expressway, and the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. A stop was made at West Street and Vesey Street, and service continued up West Street. AM service turned onto 11th Avenue, 23rd Street, and then up Madison Avenue and then 57th Street to the terminal at Third Avenue. In the PM, service started at Park Avenue and 57th Street, then went south on Lexington Avenue, west on 23rd Street, before heading on Seventh Avenue and West Houston Street, before joining up with the AM route at West Street.[151]

On April 1, 1996, morning buses were rerouted via New Jersey to save up to 40 minutes in travel time and the route was extended 1.8 miles (2.9 km) from Marsh Avenue to the Richmond Avenue turnaround. The changes were made in response to a competing express bus route set up by a private bus operator on February 5, 1996, which already ran via New Jersey. A free transfer was instituted to make up for the loss of service to Lower Manhattan at Vesey Street. After three months, the changes increased ridership by 20%, making up most of the ridership lost to the competing bus company.[152]

Operated via Lincoln Tunnel in both directions until March 20, 2006, when buses were rerouted via the Staten Island and Gowanus Expressways and West Street. This was following the opening of the Staten Island Expressway bus lane in November 2005.[153]

Began service on October 1, 1976 running from Grand Central to Battery Place and Greenwich Street.[156][157] The service included a UniTicket program between the Conrail (now
Metro-North) rail service at Grand Central and the express bus route.[158]

School days only, discontinued on June 27, 2010 due to budget crisis. Service replicated by Q44 and Bx22 local buses and private buses for school students.[50][79][167]

Traveled between Queens and the Bronx via the Whitestone Bridge, and non-stop in the Bronx via the Hutchinson River Parkway, Cross Bronx Expressway, Bronx River Parkway, Kasmiroff Boulevard, and Bedford Park Boulevard.[166]

The New York City Transit Authority, in March 1971, sought permission from the New York City Board of Estimate to operate express buses during rush hours along the FDR Drive. It was hoped that the route would attract Upper East Side residents that used their cars to get to the Financial District.[173]

The two former southern termini in Lower Manhattan were at Pearl Street and Frankfort Street, and at Water Street and Broad Street.[174]

On June 24, 1996, service was rerouted from 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue with a terminal at 110th Street and 5th Avenue to a terminal at 92nd Street and York Avenue, running along York Avenue to 55th Street.[175]

Note: An additional route, the BM2S bus route, ran from Starrett City to Downtown Manhattan ran via Flatlands Avenue between East 80th Street and East 105th Street. The service still operates as part of regular BM2 service during rush hour. [184][38] In addition, Command operated ferry shuttle buses around the Bay Ridge area from the Brooklyn Army Terminal after September 11, 2001, for the free ferry ride to/from the Wall Street pier. Both Pioneer Bus then Command Bus operated bus service to/from Roosevelt Raceway.

From late 1988 to early 1990, Queens Surface Corporation temporarily outsourced these lines to Caravan Transit (a school bus operator) due to equipment shortages with the approval of the NYCDOT. Caravan Transit returned the lines to Queens Surface Corp. when 50 new MCI Classics suburban type buses (900-949) were delivered new to that company during 1989.

Metro Apple Express (MAX) operated buses in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and to Jones Beach during its existence. They did not have fare boxes on the bus so the drivers were able to make change. Their bus schedules were color-coded for each route, BM10 was black, BM11 was blue, BM12 was green and BM15 was red. The president was Patrick Condren.[186][38]

Route BM15 one trip during the PM Rush Hours started at Fulton Street & Water Street.

The check point Brooklyn bound originally was at Broadway and Exchange Pl, then 66th Street & 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge, it was changed when they started the super express so passengers may transfer between buses, that is why the BM11, and BM15 routes were changed, the check point for Manhattan bound was the last pick up stop in Brooklyn.

They had 2 Jones Beach routes, the BN1 Bay Ridge, the MN1 Midtown, 55th Street & 2nd Avenue ran during the summer months, and they ran a Amtrak special ran between Grand Central & Penn Station for passengers who needed to transfer between trains, and a Department Of Labor ran for the employees between the office and Downtown Brooklyn to connect to the subways.

^"Planned Service Changes X28". mta.info. New York City Transit. September 4, 2016. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2016.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)

^ abIvan D, Henzel (September 6, 2015). "Hop-on Hop-off in New York". New York bezoeken (in Dutch). New York bezoeken. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)